Robb Clifford, Executive Director

January is somehow behind us already and we’re now well on our way into 2024. The New Year is always filled with excitement, anticipation, and maybe a bit of sadness; 2024 is no different. Many of the Park District’s usual programs and community events will return, trails will be maintained and updated, and as a whole, we’ll continue to offer you a multitude of avenues to get into nature! We at the Park District are excited about new adventures in 2024. You may want to get your calendar out while you read the rest of this article… there’s a lot here you won’t want to miss!

Maple Sugarin’ on the Prairie will be here before you know it! The sap is flowing as I write this article and within days, the sugar shack will be fired up producing that sweet springtime treat! The Friends of Darke County Parks will host their annual Waffle Breakfast at Shawnee Prairie on March 2nd. Tickets are on sale now at the park district office at the nature center and Bear’s Mill. Tours will be hosted that morning, educating on the science and history of maple sugaring. Of course, don’t forget to step into the steamy sugar shack to witness the magic firsthand! Sponsor a bucket for the best deals (details on our website) or buy your breakfast tickets in person today!

The Nature Center Gift Shop now stocks select products from Bear’s Mill! Store favorites like cornmeal, pancake mix, shirts, mugs, and COFFEE are now also sold at Shawnee Prairie. In addition to these items from the mill, maple syrup will soon be stocked… yum! Maybe the most convenient news; credit cards are now accepted at our gift shop!

The solar eclipse is on the horizon and if you haven’t heard about it by now, be sure to check out all the cool events and plans being put forth by us at the Parks as well as across the county! I’ve only been lucky enough to witness one total eclipse, and even though it was partly cloudy that day, it was so cool! This April 8th is going to be an amazing experience. Check out all that Darke County Parks will be offering for the event here: https://www.darkecountyparks.org/eclipse2024

This year marks the 175th anniversary of Historic Bear’s Mill! As such, we have a variety of special events taking place all year long in celebration! We will have musical guests, open houses, the return of Soup N’ Bowl, and more! And after 175 years, it’s time for some restoration work. This February the Buhr stones, the heart of the mill, will be resurfaced to improve their grinding abilities. This is the first time in over 40 years this has occurred. An expert historical miller visited from Virginia to train our staff on this process. The foundation and the tail-end of the mill race will be getting some vital work done this year as well. This will take care of some critically needed repairs that have been looming over the mill for many years now. Keep an eye on the mill this year and be sure to stop in and tell it “Happy birthday”!

Last year’s inaugural Bash at the Bish was a blast and we’re stoked for round two! If you missed out, mark your calendars for June 22. Many favorites from last year are planned to return, including the BMX bike stunt show, tree climbing, and the fascinatingly unique Corcl boats. We can’t wait!

This year will mark the departure of a favorite event of the Park District. The sun has set on Prairie Days, at least in its most recent iteration. We have made the long-coming, but difficult, decision that while being a great event, the format was far too volunteer-reliant. With our shrinking number of volunteers, we were unable to continue the event in that format. Our September’s won’t feel quite the same. We are exploring options for a new autumn event to begin sometime in 2025-2026.

On a brighter note, we have agreed to take over the Gathering at Garst event! This change of ownership allows us to bring many elements of Prairie Days to the Gathering this year and in the years to come. The Gathering will remain much the same as in year’s past in 2024 and we’ll continue to grow and try new things with it in the coming years. You can expect unique vendors, amazing history and great entertainment and food!

2024 will bring the third annual Tour de Darke back on August 4th! We’ve been so happy to host 200+ cyclists from the county and neighboring regions in the past two years and are hoping to grow those numbers this year! If you like riding a bike, be sure to check out the details on our website, registration is live. All proceeds go towards the bike trail maintenance and updates, such as the new navigation signs installed last year!

Excitement, anticipation, and maybe a bit of sadness… it’s the beginning of a New Year and Darke County Parks can’t wait to experience it with you! Check out our website for all details: www.DarkeCountyParks.org. We’ll see you on the trails!

Sophie Nieport, Miller/Mill Manager

Welcome back, as I continue summarizing an interesting book titled Practical Milling, published in 1924.

American millers, after adopting the automatic milling equipment, thought it best to have the stones as close as possible when grinding. This maximized the amount of flour produced and minimized the bran, or middlings. This technique was called the “American” or “Flat Grinding” Process. They found that re-ground middlings created an inferior flour. Flat grinding made the product hotter and wetter than if ground with the stones further apart. This is where the hopper boy, or cooler came into play, and the meal would be cooled down before entering the bolter. The hopper-boy spread out the meal from the stone, gradually working it to the center of the room. The meal then got fed to reels or bolters on the floor below. Hopper-boys ranged in diameter from 6 feet to 15 feet wide and would turn about 55 revolutions per minute.

A simple mill during this time consisted of one set of 4-4.5 ft. diameter stones that could grind at the rate of 20 bushels per hour, producing 100 or more barrels of flour in 24 hours. The remaining equipment in a simple mill design included a cooler, one hexagon bolter, a scourer, and two elevators.

Hard spring wheat, with brittle bran, needed to be ground higher with more space between the stones. This caused more middlings to be produced. Inventions and improvements made to purifiers were made in order to re-grind the middlings for a better product.  It was found best to purify the middlings by removing impurities, then regrinding them, making ‘patent flour,’ which could be sold for almost double the amount. The first successful purifier used in the United States was in 1871 in the Washburn Mill at Minneapolis.

Flat Grinding became less desirable. “New Process Milling” involved raising the stones and grinding high became common practice. This also created a change in the way the grooves were etched into the stones. When you want finer flour and less middlings, you created more lands, or flat spots, and fewer furrows. Changing over to the New Process, less lands were made, and furrow surface increased. The rate of feeding the grain into the stones decreased from about 20 bushels an hour to 8-12 bushels per hour. The speed of the stones was also slowed down in the New Process Milling, creating less heat. Keeping the stones slow and cool was important.

Attention to the stones increased. Stone dressing became an art and a science. The surface of the stones was kept as smooth and true as possible. Various new styles of dresses were experimented with. Without guides or prior knowledge, millers had to be innovative thinkers willing to try new things. Millers wore many hats and had to have an ingenious mind. This New Process Milling was most common from 1875-1883 before steel roller mills were introduced.

The transition to roller mills in the United States was gradual until about 1881. At first, millers just used the roller mills for grinding middlings, still using stones to grind wheat. But eventually, all mills transitioned to roller mills or went out of business.  

Bear’s Mill is unique for the fact that even though the mill was converted to a roller mill, the French Buhr stones were kept intact. We still have three sets of these stones, all in great condition. We only use one set for grinding due to less demand, but all three sets have life left in them. When visiting Bear’s Mill, you can travel through time and see how the mill transitioned and grew based on milling technology. We are fortunate to have all of the equipment we do, and I am honored to contribute to its continued preservation.

As we welcome 2024, join us in celebrating Bears Mill’s 175th birthday! Keep an eye out for special events, a new book and video, and fun surprises in the gift shop! Follow Historic Bear’s Mill and Darke County Parks on social media for the most up-to-date information.